Stocks in Toronto rose sharply on Thursday, driven by commodities stocks, as oil and metals prices recovered from steep losses in the past two sessions.
The S&P/TSX had jumped 283.75 points, or 1.5%, to pause for lunch Thursday at 19,013.41.
The Canadian dollar rose 0.32 cents to 77.02 US cents
Among energy leaders, Advantage Oil & Gas gained 95 cents, or 12.4%, to $8.59, while Crescent Point Energy jumped $1.09, or 13.1%, to 9 $.43.
Consumer discretionary stocks also shone, with Linamar jumping $2.96, or 5.5%, to $56.48, while BRP Inc. gained $3.76, or 4.6%, to 84. $.81.
Tech stocks also strengthened, with HUT 8 Mining taking 18 cents, or 9.9%, to $1.99, while Magnet Forensics gained $1.07, or 6%, to $18.95.
Gold took a sour note, however, as New Gold fell three cents, or 2.1%, to $1.42, while Barrick Gold fell 16 cents to $22.29.
Economically, Canada’s merchandise exports rose 4.1% in May, a fifth consecutive monthly increase. At the same time, imports fell by 0.7%.
As a result, Canada’s merchandise trade surplus with the world widened from $2.2 billion in April to $5.3 billion in May, the largest trade surplus since August 2008.
Elsewhere, the IVEY Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 62.2 in June, a far cry from May’s 72 and well below the June 2021 figure of 71.9.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 9.48 points, or 1.6%, to 611.83.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were in a positive direction, with energy up 4.6%, while information technology and consumer discretionary stocks each rose 1. 8%.
Only gold was negative, and only 0.2% at that.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose Thursday as Wall Street sought to extend a modest winning streak.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 281.26 points to 31,318.94.
The S&P 500 rose 48.72 points, or 1.3%, to 3,893.30. The S&P 500, which sits about 20% off its all-time high, is chasing its first four-day winning streak since late March.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 208.40 points, or 1.8%, to 11,570.25.
Energy stocks led the gains on Thursday, reversing some recent losses as oil prices rebounded. Chevron rose 2.5%, while Exxon jumped more than 3%.
Freeport-McMoRan gained 6.6% and Nucor rose 5% as commodities stocks rose.
Chipmakers rose after South Korea’s Samsung posted an 11% increase in profits and 21% in revenue in the latest period on strong memory chip sales. Shares of AMD jumped 4% and Nvidia 3%.
Another notable move was GameStop, which jumped 10% after the video game retailer said a four-to-one stock split had been approved by its board.
Solar stocks also outperformed, with Sunrun gaining 7%.
Meanwhile, Levi Strauss is expected to release results on Thursday after the bell. Many investors and strategists pointed to the busy earnings calendar later this month as a key test for the markets.
On the economic front, initial claims for unemployment insurance and continuing claims rose slightly last week. The US trade deficit for May is slightly higher than expected at $85.5 billion, but is still down month over month.
The official US Department of Labor jobs report is due out on Friday.
Treasury prices fell, taking yields to 3% from Wednesday’s 2.92%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered $5.52 to US$104.05 a barrel.
The price of gold gained two dollars to reach US$1,738.50 an ounce.
Comments are closed.